Traumatised staffer needed help

Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal staff member who allegedly was raped in Parliament House in Canberra in 2019, is right when she says: “Everyone should feel safe to report sexual assault without fear of losing their job. These incidents shouldn’t have to play out in the media for change to happen.” Her decision to ask Australian Federal Police to investigate the incident is right. It allegedly occurred on the couch in then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds’s office in the early hours of Saturday, March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking on the Friday. For the sake of alleged victims and alleged perpetrators — who have a right to defend themselves — claims of rape, sexual assault, abuse and other crimes are best handled through the legal system. The decision of whether to report such incidents ultimately rests with alleged victims. And to be fair to Senator Reynolds, Ms Higgins told news.com.au that the minister encouraged her to go to the police. But as Senator Reynolds acknowledged in her unreserved apology to Ms Higgins on Tuesday, not enough was done to help and support her. The minister also confirmed the alleged perpetrator had been “terminated” from her office for a “security breach” shortly after the incident.

The treatment of Ms Higgins, who was 24 at the time of the alleged incident, also fell short in other areas. Senator Reynolds, rightly, “deeply, deeply” regrets speaking with her about the attack in the room where it allegedly took place. Under the circumstances, it was callous that Ms Higgins reportedly was given the option to go home to the Gold Coast during the 2019 election campaign but was told this would affect her ability to apply for a future Liberal Party job. Nor is it good enough that she was made to feel, she says, “like a political problem”. Senator Reynolds insists, however, that she never indicated to Ms Higgins that her job was at risk.

As reported on Wednesday, Parliament House security guards were so concerned about the handling of the allegations that they raised concerns in confidential submissions to an inquiry about the Department of Parliamentary Services. The whistleblowers claim that reports about the 2019 incident were altered to remove details and soften the graphic language describing how Ms Higgins was found. Questions need to be asked about why security guards who saw Ms Higgins after the alleged ­assault did not call for medical help. Nor was it good enough, as we reported on Tuesday, that after Ms Higgins asked “at least half a dozen times” to view CCTV footage, a staff member of Senator Reynolds told her she could not. Several Coalition and Labor senators reportedly have known about the allegations made in the inquiry, including the possibility that the Department of Parliamentary Services destroyed significant evidence by immediately steam cleaning the office.

Other serious matters need to be clarified. Senator Reynolds refused to say on Tuesday if and when she told Scott Morrison’s office about the alleged rape. The Prime Minister says he was advised that his office became aware of the allegations of a sexual assault last Friday, February 12, and that he personally did not know about them until Monday morning. Understandably, Mr Morrison said on Wednesday that he was not happy that Senator Reynolds failed to tell him for nearly two years. But The Australian understands a meeting occurred in early April 2019 in which a former Liberal staff member and colleague of Ms Higgins told a senior adviser to Mr Morrison about the alleged assault.

As Mr Morrison told the Coalition partyroom on Tuesday, the alleged incident is a “wake-up call” about the treatment of women in federal parliament. Rape, a serious criminal offence, is in a different sphere to problems of workplace culture, bullying and bad behaviour, although respect for others and decency are at the heart of such matters. Many also would argue that a workplace culture hostile to women creates conditions that can increase the likelihood of sexual harassment, sexual assaults and rape. For that reason, the review by West Australian Liberal MP Celia Hammond, a former Notre Dame vice-chancellor, of the Coalition parties’ complaints handling processes and workplace culture will be worthwhile. So is the inquiry by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Stephanie Foster about how parliamentary staff can be better supported. The political ramifications of the drama are potentially enormous. But at its centre is the alleged rape of a young woman in the national parliament who has been brave to speak out. There is no justification for covering up allegedly serious crimes, regardless of where they occur.